Entrepreneur & Investor Immigration Summit 2018 | The Conference Board of Canada | 27 November 2018 | Shaw Centre, 55 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON K1N 9J2, Canada

Today Canada is opening its doors to over 300,000 immigrants per year at a time when many nations are closing their doors to global talent. But Canada’s intake of business immigrants is extremely low. This is due to the fact that Canada has struggled to achieve business immigration success since it became active in the field 40 years ago—in 1978.

Canada is well positioned to learn from its 40 years of business immigration experience to help grow its economy. In fact, there is tremendous opportunity for business immigrants to contribute to Canada’s economic development agenda in areas such as international trade, Fdi attraction, infrastructure, innovation, affordable housing, business succession planning, and the development of small and rural communities.

The main objectives of the Summit are to:
• Explore how business immigration can help advance Canada’s economic development agenda. Key areas of exploration include international trade, Fdi attraction, infrastructure, innovation, affordable housing, business succession planning, and the development of small and rural communities.
• Identify how to improve Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial business immigration programs.
• Foster networking and learning opportunities between officials from government, business, immigration law and consulting, immigrant-serving organizations, and education so that they can work toward shared objectives.
• Compile recommendations from Summit speakers and attendees on how Canada can spur economic growth and job creation through business immigration. The Conference Board will include these recommendations in a report to be released publicly in early 2019.

Key topics to be explored include:
• Canada’s federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal economic growth agenda.
• Provincial/territorial immigrant entrepreneur and investor streams.
• Attracting, supporting, and retaining business immigrants in large and small communities across Canada.
• Global business immigration issues including the latest insights on the high net-worth population, and developments in Asia, the U.S., Caribbean, Europe, and Middle East.
• Major public policy concerns such as fraud, high real estate prices in Vancouver and Toronto, and retaining business immigrants in Canada.
• Identifying what Canada can learn from its 40 years of experience and developments abroad so it can become the global leader in business immigration.

2018 Speakers

Kareem El-Assal
Senior Research Associate and Senior Network Manager, Immigration, The Conference Board of Canada

Pedro Antunes
Executive Director, Economic Outlook and Analysis, and Deputy Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada

Victoria Lennox
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Startup Canada

David S. Lesperance
Founder, Lesperance & Associates

Emilio B. Imbriglio
President and Chief Executive Officer, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton

Mona Shah
Attorney, Mona Shah & Associates

Austin T. Fragomen
Chairman, Fragomen Global

Christian H. Kaelin
Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd.

Selin Deravedisyan-Adam
International Mobility Specialist, Phoenix Management in International Mobility

Louis Bélanger
Directeur General, Des Opérations d'Immigration, Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion

Stephane Tajick
Head Advisor, Stephane Tajick Consulting (STC)

Randy Boldt
President and Chief Executive Officer, VisaMAX Limited

Stewart Low
Director, Entrepreneur Immigration, Saskatchewan Ministry of Immigration and Career Training

Ben Rempel
Assistant Deputy Minister, Immigration and Economic Opportunities Division, Manitoba Education and Training

Deb Zehr
Executive Director, Immigration Programs Branch, Government of British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology

Christian Henrik Nesheim
Founder and Editor, Investment Migration Insider

Tammy Hwang
Economic Development, Global Hamilton Office, City of Hamilton

Jeffrey S. Lowe
Chief Inspirational Officer, Lowe & Company

Adam Anshan
Director of Operations, National Angel Capital Organization (NACO)

Larry E. Shaw
Chief Executive Officer, Ignite Fredericton

Marina L. Sedai
Immigration and Citizenship Lawyer
Sedai Law Office

Stephen W. Green
Partner, Green and Spiegel LLP

Natasha Kim
Director General, Immigration Branch, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Horatio M. Morgan
Associate Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University

Leticia C. Siu
Associate, Dentons

Alison Anderson
Chief Executive Officer and Founder, SuccessionMatching

Janet Moser
Director, Fredericton Intercultural Business Services, Fredericton Chamber of Commerce

Corinne M. Pohlmann
Vice-President, National Affairs and Partnerships, Canadian Federation of Independent Business

Robin Seligman
Founder, Seligman Law

Robert W. Kraft
President, Invest in the USA (IIUSA)

Richard Kurland
Policy Analyst and Lawyer, Kurland Tobe Immigration Law Firm

Janet Thompson-Price
Founder, Thompson Price Law

Shelley Bent
Director, Programs, Nova Scotia Office of Immigration

Remzi Cej
Director, Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism, Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Advance, Education and Skills

Henry Phillips
President, HP Consultants Inc

Tamara Mosher-Kuczer
Associate, Capelle Kane Immigration Lawyers

Kim K.C. Ly
Principal / President, Borders Immigration Consultancy

Peter Veress
President, Vermax Group

Stephen Chase
Manager, Settlement and Multiculturalism Unit, Government of New Brunswick

Karla Briones
Founder, Karla Briones Group

Sherry Redden
Manager, Business and Workforce Integration, Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia

Irene Sihvonen
Senior Vice President, Services & Organizational Development, ACCES Employment Services

Zeynab Ziaie
Legal Advisor, Iranian Canadian Association of Immigration Consultants

Marius Curteanu
Immigration Manager, Immigration Unit, Government of Yukon—Department of Education

Ken Nakahara
Director, Immigration Selection Division, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

Dave Nightingale
Director, Business Support and Trade, Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Government of the Northwest Territories

Omar Allam
Chief Executive Officer, Allam Advisory Group

Devon Franklin
Project Manager, Magnet Export Business Portal & Hire Immigrants, Ryerson University

Colette Pepin
Director, Educational Services, Ottawa Community Loan Fund (OCLF)

Nargiz Mammadova
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Destin.ai

Bruno Santiago
Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder , NeoJets

Cuneyt Zumrutpinar
Chief Executive Officer , Cuz Tech Inc.

2018 Sponsors and Partners

SPONSORS:
• Fragomen Worldwide
• Succession Matching
• Arton Capital
• Auruy Capital
• Canadian Immigrant
• JP Star
• Seligman Law Canadian Immigration

STRATEGIC PARTNER:
• CAPIC

EXHIBITORS:
• CUZ Translation
• Destin ai
• Government of Northwest Territories
• Mona Shah & Associates Global
• Sherbrooke
• Client Referrals
• SuVP Consulting Inc.

MARKETING PARTNERS:
• Imeda
• Imm Seminars
• Hire Embauche
• Investment Migration Council
• Investment Migration Insider
• Naco
• Triec

PREFERRED AIRLINE PARTNER:
• Air Canada